


here's to us (even if we're miles apart)

by tebarambles



Category: Holby City
Genre: Barns are good but treehouses might be even better, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Silly banter, Thank Goodness For Video Calls, as in: Bernie gets a bit mopey for five minutes, bad weather alert, may contain slight traces of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:20:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28173825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tebarambles/pseuds/tebarambles
Summary: With a little help from Jason, Serena finds the perfect Christmas present for Bernie. Everything seems to go according to plan - until someone spontaneously attends a conference in Boston in mid-December, where a snowstorm hits the town, and her flight back home gets cancelled. Will she make it home in time for Christmas?
Relationships: Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38
Collections: Berena Secret Santa 2020





	here's to us (even if we're miles apart)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ProfessorFlimflam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfessorFlimflam/gifts).



> Dear ProfessorFlimflam,
> 
> You gave me the prompts  
> \- Treehouse, snuggling, romance  
> \- long-distance Christmas - together apart  
> \- Soooooft!
> 
> And I loved all of them. I started writing something for the long-distance Christmas prompt. Then I had an idea for the treehouse prompt. And then something weird happened to my brain chemicals and I decided to combine the two. The third one is also a given ;) Here is the first chapter - I hope you enjoy it :)
> 
> A big thank-you to Wonko for hosting the event again! And another big thank-you to my wonderful beta and cheerleader Sevtacular, you are a star!

**5th September 2024**

“Auntie Serena, are you there? I have something to show you!”

Serena glances up from her laptop. She has been so engrossed in researching a rather pressing issue - namely finding a holiday destination for the trip that Bernie had suggested in lieu of buying each other Christmas presents this year - that she hadn't even noticed her nephew entering the living room. Or the house, for that matter.

“Jason! What are you doing here? Did I forget you were coming over today? Where are the kids?”

“It’s alright, Auntie Serena, we didn’t plan a visit today. You weren’t answering your phone and I know that Bernie isn’t home today so I figured I should just come over, so we can discuss this in person.”

“Discuss what in person? Should I be worried?”

“The surprise holiday for Bernie, of course. Don’t you ever check your text messages?” Jason shakes his head, the exasperation at his auntie evident. “You said you were still looking for a destination, right? I think you should hurry up, the best places will be booked soon.”

“Yes, thank you, Jason, I’m very aware of that. In fact, It’s what I’m doing right now. Look,“ Serena turns the screen towards her nephew, so he can have a look at what she has come up with so far.

“A converted barn? But you already did that two years ago!”

“Yes, but Bernie likes barns. And this one is in Wales, not in Cornwall. Look, it’s really nice. It has an open fire woodburner and a sauna and- ”

“It’s still the same thing, though, isn’t it? I figured you might be struggling. That’s why I brought you this.” Jason hands her a thick and heavy envelope, which turns out to contain a multitude of travel brochures. 

“You want us to live in a _treehouse_ for a week?” Serena frowns, the idea of spending time in a treehouse seems rather outlandish and not very age-appropriate to her. For a winter holiday, no less. Granted, it barely ever gets cold enough for proper snow in most of the UK, but still. 

“A luxury treehouse in East Sussex, to be precise. Look at the pictures, it seems very cosy and even has a fireplace!”

“Yes, I can see that, and it certainly looks nice. But what about-”

“It also has a full bathroom with actual plumbing, look here. I figured you might be worried about that. And there are lots of other places you could pick instead, if this one doesn’t suit you. Glamping is a whole new branch of the travelling industry, you must know.“

“Glamping, you say? I must admit, I find this very interesting. Just, what gave you the idea? I would never have thought about googling ‘holiday in a treehouse’ or anything like that.”

“Bernie gave me the idea, of course,” Jason proclaims like it must be the most obvious thing. 

“Oh, did she now?”

“Yes, when you came over for dinner the other night. When Guinevere mentioned her friend Toby’s treehouse? She wants one for herself now, but Greta is against it because of the statistical risks that come with climbing trees. Bernie told us that she and her brothers had their own treehouse when they were children, too. Were you not listening? She even offered to help to build it. If we build it, I mean. I think Greta still needs more convincing data to reassure her that it’s going to be alright though. And she might prefer hiring a professional to build the treehouse.”

Serena does indeed remember having heard Guinevere talk about treehouses on occasion. Bernie’s story, however, is new to her. 

“I think you were busy playing with Alfred at the time. But I can tell you all about it, if you want to. I have an excellent memory for these things after all.”

It’s true, Serena had kept herself busy with entertaining Guinevere’s little brother in order to give Greta an opportunity to eat a proper meal for once. Like any toddler, Freddy, as she likes to call him, demands a lot of attention, and Serena relishes in her role as a substitute grandmother. 

“That you do. And you know what, I would like to hear more about this. Tea?”

❄️

**13th September 2024**

Roughly a week after her talk with Jason, Serena finds Bernie sitting on the settee in the living room, scribbling away on a large sheet of paper. She sets down a cup of tea on the table in front of her, trying hard not to pry, even though she’s dying to find out what Bernie is doing. 

“Do you mind if I join you?”

“Of course not, come here,” Bernie extends an arm and motions for Serena to sit next to her, an invitation that Serena happily follows. Snuggling up to her partner, Serena tries to subtly crane her neck just-so in order to get a better view without Bernie noticing. An endeavour that she - unsurprisingly - fails. 

“Snooping, Campbell?” Bernie teases, clearly amused at her wife’s antics.

“What do you mean, _Campbell_?! What did I do to deserve that name, I thought we had put that past us quite some time ago,” Serena rebuffs, dramatically pressing her hand to her heart.

”Okay then, _Mrs. Wolfe,_ you’re deflecting. Am I right in assuming that you’re desperate to know what this is?”

“Yes, yes, you are. Well, I can tell that you’re not playing Pictionary this time.”

“And you have learned the difference between Charades and Pictionary, well done you!”

“Now who’s stalling? Come on, just show me!” Serena demands, sticking out her tongue.

“Impatient like a child on Christmas Day,” Bernie rolls her eyes at Serena, then hands her the paper. “It’s a rough sketch for a treehouse. For Guinevere - and Freddy of course, as soon as he’s old enough.”

“Oh, I see. Have Jason and Guin finally managed to convince Greta that it’s going to be safe enough, then? You’re not planning on doing this without her consent, do you?”

“Of course not. In fact, Greta and I worked on some of the features of the treehouse together, and I promised that we’re going to make everything extra sturdy.”

“It does look lovely,” Serena hums her appreciation, “And I see you already noted measurements and materials as well. Is this necessary? Won’t Jason and Greta hire someone to do all of this?”

“Well, umm. I thought about doing this myself, actually. You know I love a bit of DIY and I think Guin would enjoy assisting. Maybe I should ask Raf and Fletch if they’d like to help, too? We both know that Jason is more of a theoriser and Cam will still be on his world trip at the time, so he won't be able to help out either."

"That sounds like a sensible idea. And when are you planning on doing this?“

"I was thinking May or June next year, maybe? They wouldn't get much use out of it this year anyway and this way we could actually give the treehouse and the building experience to Guin as a Christmas present. What do you think?" 

A thought crosses Serena's mind - Bernie in full DIY-mode, clad in dungarees and a white vest, sweating in the spring sun… “You know what, I might come along, too. Prepare the refreshments, keep little Freddy occupied while you and Guin have your auntie-grandniece-bonding experience. Hey, maybe we all can have a barbeque together afterwards."

"That's a nice idea,” Bernie agrees, apparently oblivious to Serena’s motives. “So you think this would be a good Christmas present, then?" 

"Oh, absolutely. And it would make a nice change from the piles of plastic toys the kids usually get as well, don't you think?" 

Bernie beams happily at Serena, then leans over to mark down a few more notes on the construction plan. 

Given how invested her wife is in the whole treehouse idea, Serena figures that Jason indeed had a point in suggesting the glamping holiday. She makes a mental note to have another look at the brochures and the list of websites Jason assembled for her. 

❄️

**16th October 2024**

Bernie is doing a locum shift at St. Austin’s tonight, which gives Serena the opportunity to finally look into potential accomodations for their Christmas holiday without the risk of Bernie walking in on her. Even though they agreed on going on holiday in advance, the actual destination is still supposed to be a surprise, after all. She really ought to make a decision soon, otherwise the nicest place will be booked out. Having a good look at her long list, she decides to cross off the barns and cottages, neither of which seem special enough. Even though Jason’s suggestion initially surprised her, she must admit that the idea of spending time together in a cosy treehouse has grown on her. 

It turns out that some of the treehouses that Jason has picked can host up to five people and therefore seem much too big for a holiday for two, so she crosses off those locations either. Which leaves her with three possible contenders. 

The first one, while looking rather lovely, turns out to be situated in a family-friendly resort that she imagines won’t earn her many brownie points with Bernie, who is looking forward to a tranquil holiday, preferably without any potentially noisy neighbours nearby.

The next one is located in a picturesque area in Wales, quite similar to the converted barn Serena had initially intended to book, but in comparison to the other offers its facilities leave something to be desired, while the price is basically the same. And even though she is fairly sure that Bernie would be up for a bit of survival feeling, Serena is a creature of habit and likes her comforts, thank you very much. So that one has to go as well. 

The third treehouse, however, looks like a perfect fit. It’s the smallest of the three houses, and the online reviews are raving about the cosy atmosphere of the build. The pictures that have been taken in broad daylight look very inviting and Serena muses that the beautiful interior of the treehouse must be even more stunning when it’s dark outside and the room is illuminated by the warm glow of the wood-burner. She can definitely imagine herself cuddling up to her lovely wife on the small two-seater next to said wood-burner.

Apparently the large bed that is the centerpiece of the main room, is hand-crafted. The promised Egyptian cotton bedding is a nice bonus as well, Serena thinks. The treehouse also comes with a full bathroom with actual plumbing, which, as Jason has already pointed out, is a rather important feature in Serena’s opinion. 

The small kitchenette leaves enough room to prepare the odd meal. However, though according to the reviews the treehouse has a rather isolated feel to it, it’s actually not that far away from the next small town, so enjoying a pub lunch isn’t off the cards either.

She cannot believe her luck when the calendar on the website shows that the place is still available from the 28th of December to 2nd of January, which is absolutely perfect, because it falls right into the time both she and Bernie managed to take off. Plus, even though Bernie knows that they’ll be going on holiday some time in the near future, she’s probably not expecting it to happen between Christmas and New Year. Without hesitation Serena types up a quick email to the owner in order to check whether the statement on the website is correct. There’s no time like the present, after all.

A mere hour later, Serena receives a reply from the owner of the treehouse, who is positively ecstatic to offer them the place for the requested time. 

❄️

**10th November 2024**

“Bernie?”

“Hm?” Bernie humms, eyes fixed on the latest issue of the Lancet. 

Serena is hovering in the doorway to the living room, seeming a bit fidgety for some reason. “There’s something I’d like to talk to you about. Do you remember my friend June Mitchell?”

“The infamous June from your Harvard days? Of course I remember her, she’s quite the original,” Bernie says, fondly recalling the shenanigans that Serena, Sian and June got up to the last time June visited. She can only imagine what would have happened if Fleur had joined the band as well. “How is she? What did she want?”

“That’s the one. You know she still teaches at Harvard, and she offered me a slot at a conference she’s organising to talk about Autism in the workplace, based on Jason’s experiences as a porter. I think it would be a great opportunity to promote our charity work as well. And meeting up with some old friends would also be nice, of course. There is a catch, though,” Serena frowns, not quite sure how to broach the topic..

“Okay, and what’s the catch?”

“Well, it takes place from the 13th to the 18th. December, I mean. It’s rather short notice, I know. They already had someone local for the slot, a person who actually has Asperger’s who was going to talk about their own experiences on the matter, but they had to cancel. June actually asked me to bring along Jason, but I doubt he’d like the idea of being away from his family this close to Christmas. Which is also my main concern.”

“I see. Greta probably wouldn’t like the idea of managing the Christmas preparations and two kids on her own, either, so I can imagine that he’d rather stay home. But this thing really sounds right up your alley. And you’d be back in time for Christmas, so I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t do it.” Bernie can see that it would mean a lot to Serena to participate in her friend’s conference, and she does her best to let Serena know that she supports her in this new career adventure.

After they both left Holby City Hospital for good, they stayed in the region to keep their friends and families close. Bernie is quite happy to do locum jobs here and there, sometimes she does the odd guest lecture on trauma medicine. Staying put at Holby City Hospital didn’t really feel like a viable option to Serena either after having locked horns with the powers that be one time too many. Plus, the ever-increasing paperwork which comes with being a consultant had led to severe frustrations due to a lack of what Serena deemed 'meaningful action'. Having left the place without a specific plan of action, she temporarily felt herself at a loss for what to do, until one day Alan, Jason's old carer, asked her if she'd be willing to give a talk on her experiences of taking in her adult, autistic nephew. The talk turned out to be a huge success, so that Serena found her eyes opened to the possibility of doing more charity work. Nowadays, she spends the majority of her time doing the desired 'meaningful action' through fundraisers and talks, alongside occasional locum shifts to keep her skills sharp.

The beam that spreads over Serena’s face at Bernie’s words of support is all that Bernie needs to see to know this was the right thing to say. 

“Thank you so much, my darling! I’ll email her right away to confirm the slot,” and with that, Serena is out of the door, a noticeable spring in her step, probably already planning the trip in her mind.

❄️

**18th December 2024**

Overall, the conference has been a great success and Serena is very pleased at all the new contacts she was able to make and that she hopes might be of great help in the future. Some of the other talks were quite insightful, too.

The trouble is, this morning her overall very enriching stay in Boston has taken a bit of a blow, quite literally. She was set to travel back home today, but over the night a surprise blizzard has befallen the city, and now all flights have been cancelled, thus far without any prognosis as to when she might be able to get onto another one. Luckily, she was able to extend the reservation of her hotel room. Not knowing when she will be able to leave makes her antsy nonetheless, and right now she can’t even get a hold of Bernie to tell her the bad news, because she is still in surgery. 

It’s still almost a week until Christmas, she reasons with herself, no need to worry yet, right? 

Christmas isn’t the only thing to worry about. What if she can’t even make it home in time for the little getaway she has planned for Bernie. She’d hate for this silly snowstorm to ruin her surprise. 

Putting the bad news into an email feels too impersonal, though, and knowing her wife’s lax approach to keeping up with her emails, it might be futile anyway. So she opts to fire off a short message to ask Bernie to video-call her as soon as she gets out of surgery, hoping that it doesn’t sound all too foreboding.Her text message must have alarmed Bernie nonetheless, judging by her slightly panicky look and her even more tousled than usual appearance when she calls her back two hours later.

“What’s wrong, love? Aren’t you supposed to be at the airport by now?” Bernie immediately prompts, cutting right to the chase. 

“I must have offended some weather deity or other, by the looks of it. Here,” Serena walks towards the window and turns around so that Bernie can see what’s going on outside. “It’s been snowing and storming for hours, a veritable blizzard. And a surprise one, too, according to the news reporter. All the flights have been cancelled for now and there’s no safe prognosis as to when I can expect to get onto another plane.”

If Bernie is upset, she doesn’t let it show. “Right, well, this isn’t great news, obviously. I’m just glad you’re okay, you gave me quite the fright.”

Serena visibly cringes at that. “I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to. Just got a little upset earlier, but I have resigned myself to ‘it is what it is’ for now.”

“That’s the spirit.” Bernie offers her a wry grin. “There’s still time left for the weather to sort itself out, after all. Listen, I’m still on shift for a while, so I need to get going. Keep me updated, okay? And please stay safe.”

“I promise, I will. Now hurry up, Major, I wouldn’t want to get you into trouble with your colleagues.” Serena throws her a cheeky wink before she ends the call. Trust Bernie to keep optimistic in any situation. She hopes her partner is right.

❄️

**19th December 2024**

“So, how did your day with the kids go?” Serena knows that Bernie had offered to look after Guinevere and Alfred today, allowing Greta and Jason to do put up some more decorations at the house and to get their Christmas shopping done. 

“Oh, splendidly. They wanted to make Christmas cards and decorations. Brought tons of craft stuff over, the living room looked like they had robbed an art supplies shop on their way here. Guin is quite adept at making straw stars, I was really impressed. And Freddy loves everything that has to do with sticking random bits of paper together. He’s a menace, that one, I’ll tell you.”

“Oh, don’t we know it? And what did _you_ do?”

“Ah, I mainly assisted our darling grandnephew and tried to keep the chaos at bay.”

“Ha, I can imagine. That explains your new accessory then.”

“Hm?”

“That bit of glitter on your left cheek? Got caught in the crossfire, did you?”

Bernie frowns and pats at the aforementioned cheek. There is indeed something sticking to her skin. Upon closer inspection it turns out to be a very glittery piece of confetti in the shape of a snowflake. She reaches out her hand towards her webcam to grant Serena a better look at the offending piece of plastic, her eyes widening comically as she realises something. “Oh dear.”

“Let me guess, you went out without checking your appearance in the mirror?”

Bernie can feel her face heat up. “Uh, I took them to the playground as a reward after tidying up, yes.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised. You’re completely lost without me there, aren’t you? In full Major Scatterbrain mode, as always,” Serena teases. 

“Oh, shush! I guess I should be grateful it wasn’t a googly eye.” 

“A googly eye? Now that would have been quite a sight!” Serena’s eyes are filled with mirth, she’s obviously fighting not to laugh out loud.

“Right, make fun of me, running about the playground with confetti stuck to my face. No wonder the other adults there were staring at me like I was some sort of madwoman.”

“Oh, poor you! For the record: I think you looked adorable. Hm… great-auntie Bernie in action, pushing swings and all that - I’d have loved to be there with you.” There is a sudden wistful quality to Serena’s voice that pulls at Bernie’s heartstrings.

“I know, darling. Any news on the weather report?”

“Not yet, I’m afraid. But I promise I’ll let you know as soon as there’s hope for me to leave.”

There is a knock on the door and a muffled voice that announces the room service.

“Right, that’s my dinner. I didn’t feel like eating downstairs tonight. And you look tired, you should get some sleep. Good night, my darling, I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

❄️

**21st December 2024**

Bernie sighs and rubs her eyes as she closes the Zoom window on her desktop. Another late night call, another dodgy connection, lots of “What?” and “Can you repeat that?” and “Sorry, I didn’t get that. God, I hate skype so much” - “This is Zoom” - “Same difference, I hate it”.

She should be used to this by now, she reckons. It’s not like she has never been separated from her loved ones around Christmas before. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t relieved on more than one occasion to not be at home for the holidays back in the day, under the scrutiny of Marcus and his extended family, watching her every step to make sure they didn’t miss any of her shortcomings as a wife and mother. It feels different this time though. Because she hasn’t spent Christmas on her own for several years now. And she is not the one who is away this year, which is also a novelty.

Yes, Bernie misses Serena terribly, and what’s making it worse is the fact that they had managed to block the entire week between Christmas and New Year to celebrate together - the perks of doing locum work. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were supposed to be just for the two of them, and on Boxing Day they were going to host a traditional Christmas dinner with the kids and their respective families and partners. But now it’s the 21st of December and Serena is stuck in a hotel halfway around the world thanks to this bloody snowstorm. So it's wait and see for now. And Zoom calls, apparently. Quite the opposite of a Christmas miracle, Bernie thinks darkly.

Then it dawns on her - Boxing Day dinner, oh no! Both Jason and Greta aren’t particularly fond of cancelling plans at the last minute, and she can’t imagine that the other kids would be too happy either, given what an effort it was to get them all together for just one day in the first place. Most of the shopping is already done as well, what is she supposed to do about that? Hosting without Serena is out of the question, let alone preparing everything on her own, since some of the dishes are based on Serena’s top-secret family recipes. Of course, Bernie and Serena have cooked the odd Christmas dinner together in the past - on the few occasions that they actually spent Christmas at home, that is. And Bernie likes to think of herself as quite the competent cook, even though her approach to cooking tends to be a lot more experimental than Serena’s. But she has never made anything like turkey wellington before and the idea of having to prepare it on her own fills her with dread. Besides, the mere idea of celebrating as one big happy family while the love of her life is on her own in a hotel somewhere in Boston? Utterly ridiculous. 

Bernie’s phone pings and alerts her to a new text message:

> _I forgot to say: please don’t cancel our Christmas Dinner yet. I know you’re fretting, let me see what I can do. x_

Of course Serena would know what’s going on inside her head. She types up a quick reply before getting ready for bed:

> _Stop reading my mind, Fräulein :P Your wish is my command, I won’t cancel (yet). Have a good night #iloveyou_

❄️

**24th December 2024**

Serena is pacing the room, eager for Bernie to join the Zoom call. She fidgets with the hemline of her dress, has decided on a whim to dress up a little. It’s not a new dress, in fact Bernie has seen her in it several times before, but she’s always been very appreciative about it.

If she were at home, she and Bernie would snuggle up on the sofa together, clad in their fluffiest jumpers or possibly even their pajamas, and probably watch a cheesy Christmas film together, that Bernie would insist doesn’t affect her at all. Alas, this year Murphy’s Law got in the way. Still, they may be more than 3000 miles apart, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t enjoy a nice Christmas Eve together. Serena had even ordered eggnog at the hotel bar - joyfully ignoring the bartender’s obvious concern for the lonely middle aged lady who orders alcohol at 12pm on Christmas Eve - and poured it into her thermo flask to keep it warm. The one component that’s missing right now, however, is Bernie. Being patient has never been Serena’s forte, but tonight she’s even more on edge, because she has some great news for her partner. The weather is clearing up and she managed to book a flight for tomorrow evening, which means she will be home in time for Boxing Day. They’ve already decided they would see the family dinner through either way: Serena would have instructed Bernie how to cook the dishes via video call - a deal that Bernie somewhat reluctantly agreed to, motivated only her own unwillingness to let their family down and a bit of bribing on Serena’s part - and later on Serena would have joined in on the fun via video chat. But now she can actually be there, which is infinitely better.

She has half a mind to call Bernie and ask if she has forgotten their Zoom date, when a rather sheepishly grinning Bernie appears on screen, cheeks flushed and her messy head adorned with a set of reindeer antlers. 

“There’s a sight for sore eyes! I was beginning to worry you had better things to do,” Serena raises an eyebrow as to enquire the reason for her wife’s tardiness.

“Never! Besides, I’m not _that_ late. The bloody connection was dodgy again. But I dressed for the occasion to make up for it. Do I pass muster?”

“I can see that. You are a very dashing reindeer, I must say.”

“Well, you don’t look half bad yourself, Mrs. Wolfe,” Bernie counters, not-so-subtly eyeing the low neckline of Serena’s dress.

“Well, I’m glad you like what you see, even when it’s only on screen. But I think I have something even better for you,” Serena grins and starts singing, “I’ll be home for Christmas…”

Bernie’s face immediately lights up. “No! Really?”

“Yes, really! I mean, not exactly Christmas _Day_. But the weather is clearing up and I managed to book a flight for tomorrow, so I’ll be home for Boxing Day at least.”

“I’ll certainly take that over not having you here at all. Does it mean we’ll do all the dinner preparations together on Boxing Day, then?” Bernie asks hopefully - she’s still not entirely convinced that some vague instructions via Zoom will reassure her enough to manage all of the dishes on her own. 

“Ha, I thought you would ask that. No, you’re not getting out of this,” Serena admonishes. “My flight leaves at 9:30 pm my time, so there’s plenty of time left for me to walk you through all the necessary steps beforehand. Come on, it’ll be fun, I’ll be your very own TV chef! Besides, if you get most of the things ready tomorrow, it’ll leave us with a bit of alone time before the hungry mob turns up at our doorstep on Thursday.”

“Alright then, Nigella, I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” Bernie holds up her hands in mock-surrender, amusement and adoration visible in her eyes. “I’m so, so happy you’ll be here with us. It wouldn’t have been a proper family gathering without you, Serena.”

“Yes, I imagine you’d all just sit around, yearning for me,” Serena jokes. “Of course I’m happy I’ll be there, too. Merry Christmas, my darling.”


End file.
